1. Field of the Invention
Newspaper delivery in rural and suburban areas by motor vehicle or bicycle is common in many parts of the country. In these areas a receptacle is provided beside the street or highway for the receipt of the paper. This receptacle generally consists of a metal or plastic tube of one piece construction open at one end and closed at the other. The tube is usually slightly tapered away from the open end.
Such receptacles often become wet inside and at the bottom of the tube due to rain beating on the open end thereof, or merely by the water entering interiorly through longitudinal bottom openings customarily provided, or through openings through which fasteners are projected.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ridges are sometimes molded into the bottom of the tube to raise the paper therefrom and to provide additional longitudinal stability and strength. Such a modification in structure is provided for in U.S. Pat. No. 3,134,538, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,181,782.
These ridges have not been completely successful in keeping a paper dry and others have invented and devised methods and devices to compartmentalize the tube to keep the paper at or near the top of the tube. Miller, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,293, has provided a spring clip which holds the paper between the clip and the inside top of the tube. The present applicant, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,291, has provided an insert bracket, which holds the paper between the clip and the inside top of the tube. These particular devices are quite effective in keeping the paper dry, but suffer from the disadvantage that the delivery person must force the paper into the tube instead of flipping the paper into the tube during inclement weather, thus slowing delivery and limiting the size of the route. A preferable device would allow a delivery person to use the tube in a normal unconstricted manner.
Applicant's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 700,918, filed June 29, 1976, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,461, the teachings of which are herein incorporated as reference under the authority of Section 608.01 (p) of the Manual Of Patent Examining Procedure, discloses a newspaper support insert for use in a newspaper delivery tube comprising a horizontally corrugated wedge of about one-half the length of the delivery tube, the support possessing a reversely turned forward clamp to engage the lower front edge of the open end of the tube and at least one drainage hole in each trough of the corrugated surface. The purpose of this insert is to support a newspaper above the bottom of the delivery tube to prevent the newspaper from becoming wet from water which has been retained in the bottom thereof.
Applicant provides, in his U.S. patent application Ser. No. 804,768, filed June 8, 1977, a newspaper support for a newspaper delivery tube comprising a single wedge surface having a length of no more than one-half the length of the tube that is located at a selected position along the bottom of the tube.
Further, applicant discloses, in his U.S. patent application Ser. No. 824,095, filed Aug. 12, 1977, a newspaper support for a newspaper delivery tube comprising a corrugated surface having a length greater than one-half the length of the tube, at least one drainage hole being provided at each trough of the corrugated surface.
Additionally, applicant provides, in his U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 798,152, filed May 18, 1977, a newspaper delivery tube containing a false bottom comprising a corrugated surface extending about one-half the length of the tube, a first support section to raise the false bottom from the bottom of the tube, and a second smooth support section extending downwardly toward the rear of the tube.
Applicant's newspaper support devices described in his U.S. patent and patent applications referred to above, which applications are also incorporated herein as reference, are generally adequate for preventing a newspaper placed in a tube containing these devices from becoming wet from water lying on the bottom of the tube. However, the design of these devices has the shortcoming that the newspaper may slide out the front of the tube if it is carelessly inserted therein by the newspaper carrier.